Northern Saskatchewan - region of Saskatchewan, Canada

Northern Saskatchewan is a sparsely populated region covering the northern half of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is mostly covered in lakes and boreal forest.

Cities

• Prince Albert — largest city and gateway to the region
• Flin Flon — mostly in Manitoba, but a small portion is in Saskatchewan
• La Ronge — located along Lac La Ronge, a base for exploring Saskatchewan's far north
• Meadow Lake — a base for exploring nearby Meadow Lake Provincial Park
• Nipawin — a resort community for fishing, camping, boating, golfing, hunting and outdoor recreation
• Shellbrook — convergence of three major highways west of Prince Albert
• Spiritwood — small farming community
• Uranium City — a former mining town that is now almost a ghost town

Other destinations

• Prince Albert National Park — this park that is the size of Cornwall offers a wide range of recreational and wildness activities
• Four Corners (Canada) — the remote meeting point of two provinces and two territories
• Lac La Ronge Provincial Park
• Meadow Lake Provincial Park
• Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park

Understand

Much of Northern Saskatchewan is part of the circumpolar boreal forest (or "taiga"), which is dominated by conifers or aspen and poplar stands. Throughout this area are lakes, bogs, forest and rock outcroppings. Black spruce, jack pine once again are the main trees of the area.

The Athabasca Basin provides a separate ecosystem. The Athabasca Sand Hills protected by the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park are unique feature of the Canadian Shield. The hills are located in northern Saskatchewan and border Lake Athabasca, which straddles the Alberta and Saskatchewan border. There is sparse plant life in the sand hills area.

The Athabasca Basin is a region in the Canadian Shield of northern Saskatchewan and Alberta. It is the world's leading source of high-grade uranium, and supplies about 20% of the world's uranium.

The basin is just to the south of Lake Athabasca, west of Wollaston Lake and encloses almost all of Cree Lake. It covers about 100,000 km² in Saskatchewan and a small portion of Alberta. The surface of the basin consists of main sandstone sediment varying from 100 to 1000 m in depth. The uranium ore is mostly found at the base of this sandstone, at the point where it meets the basement.

Much of the Athabasca Basin is within the migratory range of the Beverly caribou herd, a major source of sustenance for the Denesuline communities. Within the basin are the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park on the south shore of Lake Athabasca and the Carswell crater.

Get in

By plane

Prince Albert (Glass Field) Airport IATA: YPA has service from Regina, Fond-du-lac, Fort McMurray, La Ronge, Points North, Saskatoon, Stony Rapids, Uranium City, and Wollaston.

Uranium City Airport IATA: YBE has service from Saskatoon and Prince Albert. Flin Flon Airport IATA: YFO has service from Winnipeg.

By bus

From Saskatoon, there are several buses a week to Prince Albert.

By car

Highway 2 bisects the region and connects Prince Albert to East Central Saskatchewan and Regina further south. Highway 11 connects Prince Albert to Saskatoon in West Central Saskatchewan as well as Regina.

Road access to the Athabasca Basin is provided by Saskatchewan Highway 955 from the village of La Loche on the west side and Saskatchewan Highway 914 and Saskatchewan Highway 905 north of the town of La Ronge on the east side.

Get around

North of Prince Albert, you won't find bus service: you'll have to drive or fly.

See

Uranium City makes for a decidedly off-the-beaten-path destination. It's accessible only by air, unless you're already in Fond-du-Lac, which is also accessible only by air, and can wait for the winter road between them to open. This community used to be home to 5,000, and is now a near ghost town, with only 73 people left (as of 2016). While there, you can visit the Athabasca Sand Dunes, 100 km of them, set in boreal forest. And then you can visit the general store to complete your tour of the town.

The Doukhobor Dugout House National Historic Site near Shellbrook demonstrates the lives of the radical Russian pacifists who settled in the area in 1899.

Do

You're probably coming to Northern Saskatchewan for the fishing or the hunting. Prince Albert is the central hub for hunters and fishermen looking to go the various lakes, and vast wilderness of Northern Saskatchewan. It is close to several lakes and Prince Albert National Park, which offer camping and fishing on some of Saskatchewan's largest pristine lakes. Further north are there are more lakes and rivers scattered through the boreal forest.

Nipawin also makes a good base for fishing, camping, houseboating on Tobin Lake, and other outdoor recreation.

Stay safe

Go next

Head back south to Saskatoon or Regina.